Rhian - A Work In Progress

So this last couple of weeks I have been working on a new doll I'm calling Rhian.  She is based on a lady I work with (called Rhian) who likes to wear red, and actually wore a red and white polka dot rockabilly dress to get married in.

This is where my dolls start out, although this is not Rhian's head, this belonged to a previous doll I did not go ahead with (excuse the pun).

I combined two different doll artist's techniques in making this doll.  I used Dawn Schiller's technique for putting the armature together and measurements, then I followed Wendy Froud's technique for make the upper torso.

Here are the hands and feet I made.  I left the legs on the wire and then joined this onto the leg armature once baked as it makes the leg armature stronger.  Also I couldn't remove the wires as I used some foil and tape underneath to make the legs shaped a bit better.

The hands I had to remove from the wire as it is difficult to attach to the armature wire, and this wire was too long, giving her ape-like arms.

Here she is after baking, and the limbs are attached.  She has had some stuffing glued on.  She is holding what will become an umbrella eventually.

 Here I've begun to paint in the features.  Pencilled in where the eyebrows will go and I've laid down some blue for the eyes.

 Here I've painted in the eyebrows (a good tip is to mix some brown paint in with the black so that it doesn't look too harsh and unnatural).  I've added pupils and highlight to the eyes.  I used real eyeshadow and real blusher to add colour to the eyelids and cheeks.  The lips have been painted with red.  Eyeliner had been painted on using the brown/black paint.

Here I've added some eyelashes to one eye and you can really see the difference it makes to her face.  I use false eyelashes from a pound shop (dollar store for the Amercians out there).  Snipped off what I needed and trimmed them to the right length.  I think these look better than trying to attach some of the hair to the eyes.  I've seen a lot of dolls that look like someone glued eyelashes into their eyeballs.

 Here she is with both sets of eyelashes attached.  At this point I've put some Fimo gloss varnish over the lips.  I've painted a little pinky purple into the corner of the eyes, and used the Fimo gloss varnish to add shine to the eyes.

Here she is trying on the dress I made for her.  At this point I've painted some red shoes onto the feet and added a little bling to make buckles.  I've covered the arms, torso and legs with nylon, but I wasn't happy with this so I've  since bought some felt in a flesh colour.  It is really difficult to find a stretchy material for sale in fabric shops, and to be honest the internet is quite a rip off these days - if you do manage to find something cheap, then they stiff you on the delivery charges, so I try to buy local as much as possible now.

Oh and the hair is made from 100% merino wool I bought in a local craft shop.  It is lovely and soft but mats up easily so need to be combed through with fabric conditioner.

I may buy some cheap white t-shirts in the future and dye them myself.

So this is where I am at the moment.  I still have to make the umbrella which has turned out to be quite a challenge.  I have to finish sewing the felt on.  I have to make a bolero jacket to cover her arms.

I will be posting more photos as I progress.

I have just bought some Fimo Puppen clay to try next.  Unfortunately the craft store I bogught it from only sells it in white, but I would be paying £5 more to have it from the internet so I will make do for now.  It will be interesting to make white dolls.  I may mix some of the flesh coloured Fimo soft I have left into it to see what I get.